Rather than banning technology, parents can manage a child’s technology addiction by building healthier habits. Model good behaviour with screen-free hours for the whole household, explain the risks using facts, require schoolwork before screen time, redirect screen time towards educational content, track usage with monitoring apps and keep phones in a box overnight.
Cyberbullying is the use of digital technology to harass, threaten or humiliate a child, and it can follow children everywhere, all day. Warning signs include distress after using devices, withdrawal and changes in mood, sleep or schoolwork. If it happens, support your child without judgement, keep screenshots as evidence, inform the school and consider therapy.
Children write exams because exams encourage them to engage with their schoolwork and show teachers and parents where the gaps in their knowledge are. Exam marks and feedback help children set goals and improve, help teachers adjust future lessons and confirm whether learners are meeting grade requirements, much like workplace appraisals later in life.
Parents can help a child discover their passions by observing them at play, asking what they love and why, and exposing them to books, museums, sports, arts and other experiences. Encourage related clubs or lessons without pushing interests they have dropped, connect them with people in those fields and model a positive attitude towards work.
Studying can be made more fun by building free time and small rewards into study sessions, using educational apps and games, and learning through everyday activities, such as measuring water with cups to explore capacity in Mathematics. Word games, play-based learning and letting children lead the learning also help make studying feel less like a chore.
Parents can develop a good attitude towards learning by being lifelong learners themselves, encouraging questions and linking schoolwork to their child’s interests. Set up a learning space with fixed daily learning times, create a vision board together, let children take turns teaching, treat mistakes as learning opportunities and allow children to learn in their own way.
